EXCLUSIVE: Gordon's Hibs recruitment role addressed as Mackay makes manager vow

Ian Gordon (right) watching Hibs from the stands, alongside then-director of football Brian McDermott, last season.

New Hibs sporting director Malky Mackay has defended Ian Gordon’s role in player recruitment – by arguing that the hands-on representative of the majority shareholders SHOULD be involved in running the club. And he’s stressed that the controlling Gordon family have NEVER signed a player against the wishes of a Hibs manager.

Gordon, son of late chairman Ron Gordon, previously held the Head of Recruitment title at Hibs, only surrendering the gig when Brian McDermott was appointed director of football last May. He then moved into an executive role working alongside CEO Ben Kensell.

McDermott – who moved on soon after Mackay’s arrival – has spoken openly about Gordon’s continued role in talent identification, crediting him with doing a lot of legwork in the recruitment of Dutch striker Dylan Vente last summer. Explaining the process that led Hibs to spend £700,000 on the forward, the veteran scout and manager said: “Ian Gordon followed him for a year, a year and a half, knew him really, really well.”

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Mackay is aware that Hibs have been left with an over-sized and imbalanced squad as a result of repeated failures in the transfer market over recent season. But puts that down to the different demands of managers, rather than any interference from on high.

And he said: “We have to get away from this idea that Ian Gordon, on his own, is buying all these players. Because that’s not what has happened, it’s not the case - and it’s certainly not what is going to happen going forward, because we have a process that I will be leading.

“Ian Gordon should be involved in the fabric of this football club. People are wanting to home in and blame him if that’s the conversation we’re talking about.

“People have got to realise that the Gordon family have put a big investment into this football club. Anyone who walks around the training ground or the stadium sees that investment. They’ve also invested on the pitch.

“And they’ve given managers what they want. So let’s be clear about that. Nobody has been brought in here against a manager’s wishes.”

Arguing that Gordon has a contribution to make, experienced coach, manager and technical director Mackay said: “Going forward, Ian is somebody who cares deeply about football. The club especially, but he’s passionate about the game.

“His father was someone who absolutely loved the game of ‘soccer’ in America, football from his background in South America. So it’s intrinsic in his family.

“It’s not made-up. It’s not something that’s new. Ian was brought up loving football.”

Mackay, right, will work closely with new manager David Gray to identify and recruit players. | SNS Group

Expanding on changes being made to recruitment by Hibs, Mackay said: “There will be a structure to the process. And there will be different eyes on players, from analysis of data through to eyes on from scouts, myself, coaches and the head coach. Our hope is to negate the risk to a player. But there is always going to be risk.

“Absolutely we need a strategy. Our squad has been very bloated – but also unbalanced, positionally and in terms of pecking order, and financially.

“We can’t wave a magic wand and change that in one transfer window. You just can’t do that because people are contracted until a certain point.

“Next summer, there is a chance for more wholesale change – because we have 15 players out of contract next summer. But this summer, that’s not quite the case.

“There are players under contract who have or haven’t contributed in the last year. We have to strike a balance on players wanting to play football, what it looks like financially, our squad depth, what we can achieve in going to find players and get players.”